Monday, November 14, 2011

Health Hazards at Kedai Rakyat

Samples from a 1Malaysia product are displayed during a press conference outside one Kedai Rakyat store, November 11, 2011 - Picture by Choo Choy May.

The Kedai Rakyat issue intruded into the news again. 1Malaysia Growing Up Milk Powder did not contain at least 15 of the legally required nutrients and carried 6,012 international units (IU) of Vitamin A per 100kcal — 802 percent above the permissible limit, claimed PR lawmaker Tony Pua. He had also claimed earlier this month that tests by two certified labs detected the presence of E. Coli and a higher than permitted amount of coliform in the 1Malaysia branded fresh milk.

Following these discoveries, Pua today demanded the Ministry of Health inspect the 1Malaysia branded products for compliance with the existing food laws.

"If someone fell sick (from the 1Malaysia products), can an ordinary citizen take the (relevant) ministries to court?" he asked.

But the Petaling Jaya Utara MP added that the product in question was no longer available since October 23, 2011.